Franz Nicolay Announces A Whole Fucking Ton of Stuff

Franz Nicolay (I feel inclined to reference his mustache because everyone else is doing it) recently left The Hold Steady, which is a good thing because The Hold Steady aren’t actually that good at “making listenable music,” and has already set into motion a whole fucking lot of things to do now that he’s livin’ single.

Let’s do this list-style!

1. Franzy will be releasing a collection of short stories, titled Complicated Gardening Techniques, via Julius Singer Press on February 11.

2. An East Coast tour has been announced in support of last year’s debut album Major General and St. Sebastian of the Short Stage. (You can also buy Nicolay’s new book on the tour.) Tourdates:

3. Guignol, Nicolay’s “gypsy-punk” (is that an actual genre now?) band, who recently recorded an album with “anarcho-folk” (is that a genre?) hero Mischief Brew, have also announced a tour. The collaboration album, Fight Dirty, is currently waiting for a physical release date, but digital and cassette versions can be bought at the Cottage Records online store..

Anyone who follows the music of C. Spencer Yeh knows how prolific he is, whether it be Burning Star Core records, solo violin tapes, or collaborative vinyl-only releases. Thus, it should be no surprise when I tell you now that Yeh has four brand new records out or coming out.

First, there is the CD reissue of a 2005 tour-only recording, Inside the Shadows, put out by Dominick Fernow of Prurient’s Hospital Productions. Second, there’s a “Compound” 7-inch from Yeh’s ongoing collaborative project with John Wiese, out on Von Archives. Third, there’s a Burning Star Core live recording, culled from over 60 live performances, due March 9 via No Quarter. And last, but certainly not least, is a single-take live recording, pairing Yeh on violin and piano with Tony Conrad on violin and harpsichord and Michael F. Duch on double bass. It’s called Musculus Trapezius and was recorded in the Sofiendberg Church of Oslo, Norway in February 2008 and then mastered by Jim O’Rourke. Check it out on Pica Disk.

Phew! Get them now before they’re gone and you have to resort to watching this guy in your free time.

Isn’t it everyone’s dream to follow around an awesome band in their heyday? (As in, not 2009-era… well, we won’t say names.) Imagine: if you were born in such-and-such a year, you could’ve been metal as hell and photographed antics too crazy for words. Then you wouldn’t have to feel like such a loser when you watch Almost Famous, wishing that you’d known rock stars once too.

Eerie Von lived the dream, and now he’s releasing a taste of what it’s like. Way back in the day, he was the roadie and unofficial photographer for The Misfits. After The Misfits disbanded in 1983, he went on to play drums and then bass in Glenn Danzig’s subsequent band, Samhain (Undead’s Steve Zing took his place as drummer), and was bassist for Glenn’s eponymous next band, Danzig. Von had his camera all the while, and his new book of photography, Misery Obscura: The Photography of Eerie Von (1981-2006), is divided up into four chapters, each covering a different stage of his involvement with punk and metal’s most famous ripped, greasy frontman in leather. Throughout the chapters covering The Misfits, Samhain, Danzig, and then finally Eerie Von’s own solo work, Von scatters set lists and ephemera throughout for the true Danzig fan.

Misery Obscura is out now from Dark Horse, and for all you people out there preparing corn syrup and food coloring for your new Misfits cover band, maybe you should consult Eerie Von before asking mommy if you can go out and kill tonight.

In what appears to be another blow to European file sharers, Iceland-based BitTorrent tracker Torrent.is has finally lost a lengthy court battle. You can get the inside scoop here if you can read Icelandic (or if you trust Google’s translation).

Torrent.is, founded in May 2005, was far and away the most used BitTorrent tracker in Iceland, with about 26,500 clients during the height of its popularity. Its popularity outside of Iceland was virtually nonexistent (the site was private to Icelandic IP addresses) but the loss in court is sure to bolster the European anti-piracy movement.

The drama in the courts began in November 2007. Svavar Kjarrval, owner of Torrent.is, received an injunction forcing him to shut down the site. In a somewhat surprising outcome, Torrent.is won in both the lower court and in Iceland’s Supreme Court. This was all well and good, until the STEF (the Icelandic equivalent of the RIAA in the US) filed a new case based simply on new claims of copyright law violations, thus, bringing the proverbial ruckus back to the courts. Once again, Torrent.is was victorious in the lower court but that still wasn’t good enough for STEF and the case returned to the Supreme Court.

STEF came out on top as the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on February, 11 2010 verifying and enforcing the initial injunction from late 2007. Aside from shutting the site down, Kjarrval must pay about $3,350 in legal fees. Remaining optimistic, Kjarraval was quoted as saying, “The battle might be lost but the file-sharing war has not ended.” Here is a link to a PDF of the official press release issued by Torrent.is in both Icelandic and English.

Here’s a decidedly juicy piece of indie gossip: After enjoying a successful solo career, Swedish singer/songwriter José González has reunited with his old band Junip, comprised of himself, drummer Elias Araya, and keys player Tobias Winterkorn. They released a five-song EP back in 2005 called Black Refugee, but they’ve gotten back together to release a full-length album coming out “sometime this year,” presumably through their own Teme Shet label. You’re probably hoping for more deets right? Well that’s all there is for now! So tough noogies.

Until more info is available on the new Junip release, sate yourselves with this other tidbit: there’s a new documentary chronicling the last three years with González, covering his international tourdates and time in the studio. The documentary, by directors Fredrik Egerstrand and Mikel Cee Karlsson, is titled The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José González and made its premiere at the Göteborg International Film Festival earlier this month. News of an American release is likewise scant, but I bet it’s safe to assume that the doc will be floating around the internets somewhere, at some point.

Baltimore art-punk boys Double Dagger have plans to spit out another release for Chicago label Thrill Jockey, only this time around, it’s in the form of an EP. Mask is the follow-up to 2009’s hair-gripping full-length More and, according to Thrill Jockey, follows along the same vein of semi-thrashy post-punky rock sorcery. The five-song extended player will be tossed on the shelves March 23.

The cover art for the release features some conceptual color-shifting limited-edition designs by band members Bruce Willen and Nolan Strals’ studio Post Typography. From the looks of it, this’ll definitely be a release worthy of snagging, if only for the cover art.

01. Imitation Is The Most Boring Form Of Flattery
02. Pillow Talk
03. Sheep In Wolf’s Clothing
04. Sleeping With The TV On
05. Song For S